Sharn Barbarin | Commitment to Saving Lives and Serving the Community
On this week’s episode of Around Flower Mound, we speak with Sharn Barbarin, the CEO at Medical City Lewisville. She began her career in healthcare administration as an administrative fellow at Medical City Las Colinas and was quickly promoted to COO at Medical City McKinney, where she served nine years before her promotion at Medical City Arlington in 2011. She transitioned to Lewisville in July of 2015. Sharn is a graduate of Louisiana State University and holds a Master's Degree in Health Administration from Tulane University. She has been named an outstanding alumni by Tulane University and honored as a Top 25 Women in Business by McKinney Living.
Sharn says, “Our mission, simply, above all else: we're committed to the care and improvement of human life. That is something that serves as our compass each and every day. It provides me direction with regard to strategic initiatives, driving our quality initiatives, and even driving with talent.”
We discuss the forty year legacy of Medical City Lewisville, as well as:
Commitment to the mission of service
The three keys that propelled her in her career
Hurricane response and the encouraging spirit that emerged out of the community
Managing the COVID-19 response and how the various systems supported the medical staff
And more
Mentioned in this episode:
Transcript
Voiceover: You're listening to the Around Flower Mound podcast with your host, Nicole Smith Woodard.
Nicole Smith Woodard: Today I'm so excited to introduce you to an absolutely fantastic Flower Mound community contributor. As you know Around Flower Mound is all about bringing light to community leaders, business owners, parents and charities within our fantastic community. I'm so grateful and so excited to have just a bit of time from this very busy lady. Sharn Barbarin. Welcome.
Sharn Barbarin: Thank you so much, Nicole. I'm so honored to be a part of this podcast.
Nicole: Well, I am so excited to have been introduced to you, Sharn, through our involvement with the Flower Mound chamber and of course, cross timbers rotary. So just a little bit about Sharn before we jump into the questions. Sharn is a chief is the Chief Executive Officer at Medical City Lewisville. She began her career with HCA as an administrative fellow at Medical City Las Colinas and was quickly promoted to Chief Operating Officer as the Medical City McKinney, where she served nine years before her promotion to COO at Medical City Arlington in 2011. And she was appointed CEO in Lewisville in July of 2015.
Sharn is a graduate of Louisiana State University and holds a Master's degree in Health Administration from Tulane University. She's been named and outstanding alumni by Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine honored as a top 25 women in business by McKinney living, as a young healthcare executive of the year nominated by the DFW Hospital Council, and has been interviewed by and published in numerous publications, including D Magazine and DFW Child. You're busy.
Sharn: But thank you so much. I'm extremely humbled.
Nicole: Well, you know what, you just bring an amazing, it's just there's so much value to everything you do and just such a wonderful perspective. And so let's just get right into the question. So what is your favorite thing about Flower Mound?
Sharn: You know, for me, it's really the strong sense of community. When I relocated here, I was embraced by local business communities by a number of different charitable organizations, which certainly speaks to my heart and there's just a strong sense of connectedness and vibrancy that easily makes Flower Mound a true destination for families, businesses, large and small.
Nicole: Isn't that the truth? It makes it really unique, doesn't it?
Sharn: It is, it's a unique place to live in to play and to eat and dine in. I mean, you name it the tagline I think, even for the chamber kind of sums it up.
Nicole: Exactly. I love it. Well, obviously you spend a lot of time leading medical city Lewisville. So tell us a little bit about your hospital what y'all do and who you want to be a hero to.
Sharn: Okay, well, you know medical city Lewisville is a 186 bed hospital that has a 40 year legacy of providing care to Lewisville farmout Highland village community. We are one of 14 hospitals within medical city healthcare, which is part of HCA healthcare. And for our facilities specifically, we specialize in women's services, advanced NICU services of therapy and rehab. We are at primary stroke center. We're a level three trauma center. We also offer comprehensive cardiac services including open heart surgery.
And so when I think through 2020 alone, we delivered 1400 babies performed 2200 surgeries, cared for what 7200 admitted patients and 36,000 ER patients and throughout the pandemic. Of course, medical city, Lewisville has cared for a number of loved ones, close to 900 COVID patients either through our emergency department or as admitted patients within the hospital. So our business is really people is caring for people in our community.
Nicole: I love how you you quantify that and how you know that that is what your mission is. And I read in one of the articles that that feature you is that that you said something about the mission of HCA really spoke to your heart If what you did was to tell us and tell tell me a little bit about that as it relates to the just the 1000s of 1000s of people individually and then by them their families that medical city Lewisville has been able to serve just in this past year. I mean, that's just one year obviously. Yeah. And there's one year legacy.
Sharn: Exactly. I mean, when you combine those numbers, it really represents what half of the farm population and when you talk about the mission. Our mission simply is above all else. We're committed to the care and improvement of human life. That is something that serves as our compass each and every day. It provides me direction with regard to strategic initiatives. Driving our quality initiatives driving even with talent we want to hire in as a nurse or even as a leader. It indeed serves as my due north, in everything that we do.
And I think what's really powerful is that every NCL employee, they know our mission. But more importantly, they are all aligned with living that mission out each and every day. And so you see that being manifested in the care that's provided to that first time mom, and she walks through our doors and is anxious and has fears and even when she walks through our doors during the pandemic, and what that may look like, she may have had a totally different idea of what that birth experience would be.
And now it's a little different in the COVID environment, maybe just holding a father's hand, within the emergency department as they come in and bring in a loved one, maybe that's in full chest pain, maybe that's even in full code. You know, just seeing that level of compassion. That is what speaks to my heart, being able to be connected to an organization that fulfills its mission, in small ways, and in large ways in life saving measures each and every day, every moment of each day.
Nicole: It's amazing to have someone and, and leadership obviously, because you know, as opposed to the actual medical doctor, right, you're the one just coordinating and encouraging and, and building up your team and your staff and, and helping people stay aligned, not just talking to talk, but walking along the walk with that mission.
Sharn: I appreciated that. Yeah, I was gonna say I mean, I think just as CEO here, I certainly am ultimately responsible for all aspects of the hospital, including, you know, really our three key responsibilities driving this hospital's quality, performance, our strategic growth and our development, and every aspect of experience, whether that be our employees experience and engagement, our physicians engagement, our patient satisfaction, but when I think about being a hero, for anyone, as an individual, I can't claim to be a hero to anyone, but I'm certainly blessed to be surrounded by heroes every day. I mean, our team of nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, PTs, OTs, the list goes on and on registration clerks, eds, case managers, they really are my heroes. And so for me, I stand in awe of them. I can't ever be a hero.
But I do hope to inspire. And I hope to inspire other females, certainly to pursue leadership, whether it be in healthcare or any business. And I certainly want to inspire the heroes that I'm surrounded by every day, to continue to utilize their their hero powers, Clinical excellence, passion, and just their healing for our community.
Nicole: Love that. I love that. Well, definitely, definitely shows for sure. So your background, you obviously are well educated in the terms of healthcare administration, just you know, by your credentials, and then certainly with your experience. So how did you get to this stage of your career?
Sharn: You know, I, you said it earlier, I think, you know, I'm going to start at the very beginning, I was really blessed to be surrounded by strong, immediate and extended family that stood on values of faith and family. My mother was a teacher, so and it still is education. So both parents really defined strong academic expectations and empowered me to really believe that I could achieve anything. And so that propelled me to pursue certainly going into health care, but my undergraduate degree and interestingly enough, is in psychology, a minor in sociology, and then went on to Tulane with a master's in Health Administration.
But I really credit my journey to getting to this stage in my career to three things one, certainly was my tenacity, hard work, my willingness to really play up in any position, take on any additional roles, responsibilities and challenges. If there was something to be done, they'd simply say, Oh, you know, we need this is an administrative resident, and I'd be the first one to say, Okay, I'll take it, I'll do it. I'll make that happen. You know, secondly, I had some confidence in my own strengths. But I also had strong introspection. I knew what my weaknesses were certainly in tune with my own emotional intelligence. And that empowered me to really pursue career advancement, but also even create career advancement opportunities for myself.
And the final thing, which certainly is key is that I had executives who invested in my leadership talent by endorsing me, they endorse my career advancement, and that includes a mentor that was a female hospital CEO during my grad school experience. And she really served as my blueprint for what was possible as a female executive. To me, she embodied sharp intelligence. She had a mastery of business development. But what was really compelling was her commitment to her patients, her staff, her physicians, and for me just her very existence as a CEO, at a time when there were fewer than now, female CEOs in the field, it really confirmed for me what was possible.
Nicole: That's amazing what a blessing. And you mentioned, you know, we first started having this conversation as your, you know, your goal is to inspire other females. And this is by no means at the exclusion of males, obviously, but right finding, finding that leadership and having those, you know, the experience that somebody's further along this path, and you took that time and that interest and what an amazing opportunity really for both, right, I think, you know, you've obviously, I'm sure made her very proud.
Sharn: And you know, what, in our field is obligation, right, to pay it forward?
Nicole: Yeah, yeah. What an amazing Well, one of the first times I think I had a conversation with you was when, right after Hurricane Harvey hit. And obviously, your hometown was dramatically impacted by that. And you brought you brought to our group, because obviously as Rotarians we're always looking for opportunities to be of service. But what do you remember about that time?
Sharn: You know, for me, it, it actually brought me back to to Hurricane Katrina. In many instances, it certainly was not as devastating, but the devastation was still broad. And what stands out for me is that in the midst of that devastation, what I saw was, what we see today is just compassion. Individuals wanting to lend a hand to help those that are were in need. And you know, that those are the images that I remember, for Hurricane Katrina, my husband's family, every one of his family members lost everything, and was surrounded by individuals who wanted to help, we certainly opened our doors to as many family members as we could that lived with us, some live with my parents in Baton Rouge who were in safer waters.
Again, it's that spirit of communication. It's that spirit of community, and certainly on willingness and unwavering faith during that time. And I saw that again during Hurricane Harvey. And for me, what also was extremely powerful is that it was at a time period when I was fairly new into the Flower Mound and Lewisville area yet, when Hurricane Harvey occurred, there was this innate feeling and passion to want to do something to want to do something for a neighboring state.
And when I brought the idea of supporting a school, that really, mother's school, she served as a dean of students to really under advantaged school within the community, about 70% of the children, they're disadvantaged, and bringing that idea of was met with so much warmth and enthusiasm. My mother still talks about it, like I cannot believe that this community rallied around me and all of my students and all of my kids. So for me, those are happy moment.
Nicole: Absolutely. Well, and I think that, you know, bring back to kind of just the purpose of this podcast to bring light to things like that, that, you know, yeah, there's a fair number of folks here in this area that have been here forever, right, and have those very, very tight and deep relationships. And at the same time, they're willing, they collectively have this community, welcome people with open arms, or, you know, so generous with, with things that are meaningful to even folks who are relatively new to the community, there's no, there's no barrier of entry, if you will, to get involved and to just, you know, make a difference, not just in this community, but elsewhere.
So I hope that that serves to encourage folks who maybe are listening to this and are considering making Flower Mound their homes, that, you know, hearing it from you that that you know, you hadn't been here for a long time, whenever people just open what well embrace the opportunity to help and to, especially then the best, what I remember just how meaningful it was to you. So that was very, very inspiring to me. Well, one of the things we haven't talked about, I want to shift gears just a bit is you're a mom, you've got two boys 16 and 18, who are obviously very active, and how long have you been married now?
Sharn: Been married? Oh, my goodness. 23
Nicole: This is not a test.
Sharn: Yes. 23 years.
Nicole: I knew it was over 20 from one of the interviews that I read a bit. Congratulations, but but you're busy. So how so what would you say what I mean? What I'm hearing is you're very structured in your thinking you're very organized, you know, you know you're you've got your true north. What would you say is? I mean, what is do you? Can you even define work life balance? Is there such a thing in your world?
Sharn: Oh, wow, you know what I think that's a misnomer that, you know, there are times when the demands of work command your time. And in those moments, certainly, the wheel of balance and the scale of balance may be a little off with regard to the time that you're able to spend at home. At the same time, I think for me what I prioritize or those key things that are important to my children. In fact, I kind of will go back to the beginning, for me, it was really important to be there, for my children, and their early stages, and, you know, throughout infancy throughout, certainly their their nursery time period going into pre K and kindergarten.
And I purposefully, didn't pursue various career advancement, and opportunities, because it was important for me to stay connected to them to be able to go to their school, and read stories to be able to go and meet with them for lunch. In those very crucial time periods. I think that the other aspect for me now that they're older, is that they're pretty articulate about the things that are important to them. So their games are important. So I'm there for every game that's like, that is a that's a non negotiable in my life. And I'm just blessed to be surrounded by other parents in my workforce, who prioritize family just as much as I do. And so they give me the opportunity to go and be with them for family, and I make certain that I pay that forward to them so that they can be there for their children's special moments.
And so, you know, I think that the other piece of it is that blessed it, I have an amazing husband, that really is there to support me, in every aspect of my role throughout my career. And certainly even throughout COVID, there's been a number of really long nights, early mornings. Sometimes we're just missing each other, especially during the early part of this COVID journey. But he stood there in support of me and took on the role of not only serving his full time job at JP Morgan Chase, but then also taking on and picking up the additional duties that needed to be done for both of my sons. And so that that network is is phenomenal.
I'd be remiss if I didn't also speak to just my mom that work, there's no way that I would have been able to do what I do without having phenomenal moms, the mothers of my children's friends, neighbors, who rallied with me as a part of that carpool struggle, getting that to their after school practices, getting them to the after school programs. So, so for me, I don't believe that there is work life balance. I believe that you prioritize and put your focus on what is in front of you at the time. And that the priorities shift day to day they shift as your children age they shift as your career progresses.
Nicole: Yeah, well, and to that point, and I know we've talked about this a little bit, I anticipate that this episode will live on well beyond the virus. But when you talk about focusing on what is in front of you right now, talk a little bit about some of the things that you've experienced leading your team through this pandemic so far.
Sharn: Wow. You know, it's been my theme probably throughout this this podcast, but I'd have to go back to compassion, compassion and community. Throughout the COVID journey. I think what stands out for me, first and foremost, is that as a healthcare industry, no one system sit alone, all systems pulled together, united in our approach with regard to how we're going to care for this community. And when I think of those systems, that medical city, thr bill are all systems united in our approach through various conference calls. I'm honored to serve on the DFW hospital council board, and our United approach in providing the latest and greatest innovation and caring for all COVID patients was top of mind. We said on ongoing conference calls weekly.
Our chief medical officers of each of the various systems also really governed the clinical intervention that was provided to each one of our patients. And so that sense of healthcare community stood strong during this time, the sense of pride that was evidenced by certainly our nurses, our therapist, our staff, was also extremely overwhelming, but I have to say that the first company It, of course, was fear. And as a leader, I needed to address those fears. And that fear needed to be addressed in a couple of different ways. One, I needed to be able to provide assurance that I was going to do everything possible to protect them. And I shared with rotary that while many suffered with shortages in PPE, I'm very blessed to be a part of a corporation, that never experienced shortages, I always had not only what I needed, but more than what I needed when it came to personal protective equipment, so that I could equip my staff with what they needed to be able to go about the business of providing care.
To every patient that walked in here, I needed to provide them also with assurances that if they needed to spend time away from family out of concern that they would potentially bring home, any type of exposure to their loved ones, that I would be there to support them in that. And so that's where the idea of hotelling came about, we provided hotel accommodations, and we still do, anyone that's working in a COVID unit can go and stay in a hotel, we of course will cover that cost, so that our our caregivers can have peace of mind that they're able to care for patients, and then also at the same time, care for their loved ones and their families at home.
Those are the things that really stand out for me. In addition to the community's overwhelming support of our hospital, it was amazing to see how many individuals reached out to us with regard to just preparing meals, doing parades, to give just a little bit of support to our loved ones, I think one of the first demonstrations of support that we had actually came from our local fire and EMS, they did a siren alarm for for our employees. And I have to tell you, all of us were just standing outside, just moved to tears, that we think of them as our first responders, but who they were acknowledging what our team does, during this pandemic. So so those are the powerful the powerful moments.
Nicole: That's amazing. Well, then, I'm sure you know, on that list of all the things we've learned through this, and that's going to you're going to be able to write a book about this someday. But where are you now? Where is your team now that we're, you know, we see a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccination has having been approved, right? Still the logistics of getting those distributed, but in this next round, where numbers are up, and you know, people's behavior still not necessarily, you know, we're still having issues. Yeah. Where are y'all? and How are y'all? Are y'all is your team? Are they are they renewed? Are they you know, weary? Where are they in that spectrum? Do you think?
Sharn: You know, they are exhausted, but hopeful so that the vaccination has provided everyone with a tremendous amount of hope. We received were lucky to receive 600 doses of the vaccine during our first wave, we received another 200 because our employees and colleagues quickly volunteered to take the vaccine. It's not mandatory, but they want it to be a part of the vaccination journey. And so we received another 200 doses, and are administering those this week. So I think that that's something that actually provided a tremendous amount of hope. I think that they have confidence in knowing that they have not only the PPE that they need to be able to provide care, but they have the therapeutics that they need to be able to provide life saving care, whether it be through remdesivir combat convalescent plasma, the rotor proning steroids.
ECMO tomorrow, we will be the third hospital in medical city healthcare to actually launch a monoclonal antibody infusion clinic, which has also been extremely effective in really recovering patients that aren't admitted, but patients that are positive with COVID but not at a point where they need to be admitted into the organization. And so I think that those innovations are also something that provide our staff with with extreme confidence as well.
Nicole: That is amazing and I just I'm so so feel so fortunate here to have access to such an amazing organization that you lead I'm so grateful. I hate to shift gears too much but but I do I am. Again, I'm just so grateful to have some time with you but in your spare time lately. Are there any books or that you're currently reading or podcasts that you're currently listening to that you would recommend to others right now?
Sharn: Oh, wow. Okay, so on the podcast front Cy Wakeman is someone who I listen to she is really a I would consider her a an industrial organizational psychologist. She, however, grew up in the ranks as a nurse. And so her podcasts speak to various journeys of leadership. A lot of her examples are based in healthcare, but they apply to any setting. She's just occasionally relatable in every way. And so I really enjoy listening to her on the book, yeah, on the book front, I'm actually just started reading a new book.
It's called 200 Women, and it is by Jeff Blackwell and Ruth Hobday. And it's accompanied by powerful photography of 200 women, business leaders, activists, artists, scientists from all over the world. Known names like, you know, Maria Shriver or Winnie Mandela, Jane Goodall, Ashley Judd, and many lesser known names. And within the book, they ask each woman the same five questions, what really matters to you? What brings you happiness? What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Which I think is pretty powerful statement. No question. What would you change if you could? And what single word do you most identify with? And, as I've one read the stories and the journeys of these women, it is so powerful how, although everyone has varying backgrounds, they represent various cultures. Their stories are thought provoking and inspiring. But they're all connected just by this thread of human connection.
Nicole: I love that. That's inspiring me to go get that book.
Sharn: It's powerful. Yes.
Nicole: Well, and even if people don't get the book, just to note, I mean, those five questions are, I mean, those are the kinds of things you could ponder for a while, you know, and I just, I love that. I love that. Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so, so much for joining us today on the Around Flower Mound Podcast.
Sharn: Thank you Nicole. I really appreciate it. It's been such a pleasure speaking with you.
Nicole: Well, it's my pleasure. As always, you and your team do so much for our community. And I just feel very blessed to know you. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your time today.
Sharn: Oh, thank you and know that the feeling is mutual. You are truly a light within this community. And so I really appreciate you and everything that you do.
Nicole: Well, thank you.
Voiceover: Thanks for listening. And when you're ready, here are three ways Nicole can help. One. subscribe to the podcast for more inspiring stories and interesting people right here on the Around Flower Mound podcast. Two thinking of selling your home? Email Nicole@NicoleSmith.net. for a copy of this month's up to date report on Flower Mound home prices. Three, looking to buy a home and Flower Mound? Join us for this week's Flower Mound home tour. Email Nicole@NicoleSmith.net for the details.
